President Musharraf obtained a waiver to circumvent the Pakistan constitution by holding both the offices of president and head of the armed forces. That waiver expires on November 15th of this year. Today, a spokesperson for his ruling party, the Pakistan Muslim League, announced he would step down as army head before November 15. According to secretary general of the PML, Mushahid Hussain Sayed: “We expect that after his re-election process next month, God willing, General Musharraf would take his oath of office as a civilian president before November 15.”

Musharraf has decided to avoid a constitutional crisis since it is almost certain the Pakistan Supreme Court would declare invalid his election if he continued holding both positions. This is an important step forward for democracy in Pakistan since it demonstrates the power of law over the power of military.